National and international organisations and websites that offer support, resources, and ideas for children with vision impairments.
General
Amber Trust
National charity that supports musical aspirations of blind and partially sighted children by paying for:
- music lessons
- music therapy
- instruments
- software
- concert tickets
Guide dogs
A national charity that offers
- family support
- education support
- access technology and grants
- guide dogs
- movement matters
- recreational activities
- buddy dogs
Look
National federation of families with visually impaired children.
They offer:
- a helpline
- events
- magazine
- a youth project and forum
RNIB
A national charity that offers
- information for parents
- advice on education and training
- reading and learning products
- activities and family events
- accessible learning
- an online magazine
Scottish Sensory Centre
The Scottish Sensory Centre:
- provides user-friendly information on a wide range of eye conditions
- runs courses
- has a library of research papers
Sense
National charity that offers information and support about complex sensory and communication needs, including providing holidays and short breaks for children.
Sight Support West of England
Sight support West of England support blind and partially sighted people across Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
They offer
- information and advice
- technology support
- sport activities
- emotional and practical support for families of children with sight loss
The Royal Society for Blind Children
The Royal Society of Blind Children offers a range of services including:
- emotional support and practical advice for families
- opportunities for children and young people to build confidence and skills through activities
- a specialist further education college
VICTA
National charity that offers
- equipment grants
- grants towards RNIB activity breaks
- an online parent support network www.throughscarlettseyes.com
Early years
Little Bear Sees
A website for families with children who have CVI. They provide information, ideas, guidance and an app to encourage use of vision.
Paths to Literacy
An American website focussing on literacy and emergent literacy for blind and severely visually impaired students. It's full of ideas and information and covers a huge range of secondary topics for parents. Lots of tactile ideas.
WonderBaby
An American website aiming to help parents of young children with visual impairments and children with multiple disabilities.
It provides a database of articles written by parents who want to share with others what they've learned about playing with and teaching a blind child. It also includes links to resources. Full of great ideas.
Reading
Calibre Audio
Calibre Audio provides a wide choice of full-length books for children and young people available to borrow as audio books.
ClearVision
A postal lending library of younger children's books designed to be shared by visually impaired and sighted children and adults. Free to families.
Cue and Review
Cue and Review provides national magazines on tape, including five teenage titles with an emphasis on music.
Guide Dogs CustomEyes books
A service making books in whatever size and font is needed. It has a huge range of books for all ages of children.
Membership is free and books are produced at a reasonable cost.
Living Paintings
A national charity that provides pictures that can be "felt" with audio commentary. This includes popular children's books. Membership is free.
RNIB bookshare
This UK charity:
- provides textbooks, fiction and other learning materials to support the UK curriculum
- offers a range of accessible formats that can be read electronically or adapted to suit the personal reading needs of learners
Free to schools and families.
RNIB library
A lending library from the RNIB that provides books in large print, braille and as talking books. Free to registered users.